The Family League of Baltimore in partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools and the Mayor and City Council, currently has 45 community schools across the city, each with a full-time community school coordinator, that provide students with health and mental health supports, after-school programs, and access to food, among other services. These efforts have contributed to reducing chronic absenteeism and increasing student participation in after-school programs. The Baltimore City Council recently passed a resolution urging the mayor to increase the budget for community schools and out-of-school programs to $10 million, a $4 million dollar increased investment.

United Way of Salt Lake, working within three, and soon to be four districts in the Salt Lake area, has helped increase student achievement and graduation rates. At one of United Way’s partner schools, Granite Park Junior High, the percentage of students completing 9th grade on track to graduate has more than doubled in just two years. Their efforts also have increased preschool opportunities in their poorest neighborhoods. Seeing this works as a collective impact strategy, United Way has put more than $21.5 million toward the initiative since 2012 and has set a goal of having 28 community schools in the region by 2017. Read United Way of Salt Lake's Initiative Award Profile.

School Winners

Benjamin Franklin High School at Masonville Cove (Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore, MD)

Benjamin Franklin High School at Masonville Cove in Baltimore moved from one of the city's lowest performing high schools to one of Baltimore's top choice high schools between 2011 and 2015. From an early childhood education program for parenting teens to workforce development for community members, a network of over 75 partners customize responses to needs presented by students and families. Students clocked more than 17,000 service learning hours last school year and are credited with stopping the building of a waste incinerator near their campus through community organizing. Read Benjamin Franklin High School’s Award Profile.

The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School (Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore, MD)

The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School in Baltimore has over 95 percent of its students receiving free or reduced lunch. Since becoming a community school in 2011, they have seen their school readiness scores rise. Teachers and staff made over 100 home visits last year and over 200 teachers from Taylor and other Baltimore schools participated in a trauma-informed behavior management skills trainings through the school’s partnership with the University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Social Work.

John Hancock College Preparatory High School (Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL)

John Hancock College Preparatory High School in Chicago has increased its social-emotional support for students as well as opportunities for them to exercise leadership skills. It is paying off in the form of higher attendance rates, increasing from 70 percent in 2010 to 90 percent last year, decreased dropout rates, and an increased five-year graduation rate, improving by 20 percent. Hancock has implemented robust mental health supports (with the help of Youth Guidance) to help address some of the major social emotional barriers to learning that their students experience. All their efforts combined has led to a strong school climate and culture.

Social Justice Humanitas Academy in Los Angeles has raised its graduation rate from 83 to 93.9% in the last year and its suspension rate remains at only .2% of students in the last two years thanks to its model practices around restorative justice, interdisciplinary teaching, relevant curriculum, and relationship building. Students are supported by Individualized Pupil Education Plans (IPEP) which determine how teachers and partners involved in the community school can best help struggling students and reflect the close relationships between students and teachers. By graduation day, 99% of the Class of 2014 had enrolled in college.

Wolfe Street Academy in Baltimore has moved from the 77th to the 2nd highest performing elementary school in Baltimore since adopting the community schools strategy nine years ago. Because of the strategy, students have greater access to after-school learning opportunities through ExpandED, student mobility has decreased from 46.6-8.8% in eight years, and average daily attendance is 96%.